About

Acharya das is a respected teacher of Vedic and yogic philosophy, meditation and kirtan, and a practitioner of the transcendental science of Bhakti Yoga, the process by which a person can come to know and love the Supreme Person. Acharya Das has taught yoga wisdom to appreciative audiences for over 40 years. He has an uncommonly deep understanding of yoga philosophy and practice and conveys that message in a clear and simple way.

Acharya das was born in New Zealand and began the practice of astanga yoga at age 14 in the small North Island town of Te Aroha. Just prior to his 20th birthday he received spiritual initiation from Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad in the Brahma Gaudiya Sampradaya (yogic lineage) and moved to India where he studied Vedic philosophy and Sanskrit while cultivating his personal practice in the Bhakti tradition.  He later moved to South East Asia where he resided and taught for over 35 years under the guidance of his śikṣā-guru  (instructing spiritual master) Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda.

From 1998 until 2006 Acharyadas served as the General Secretary of the World Vaishnava Association (WVA), an Indian based umbrella organization for over 50 Indian and International Vaishnava Missions and spiritual organizations. He continues to serve as one of the secretaries of the WVA.  In 2004 he also spoke before the Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona, Spain, on behalf of the WVA.

Acharya das teaches yogic wisdom, Vedic philosophy, meditation, kirtan, and the path of happiness, to a wide variety of audiences, including yoga-teachers, in Australasia, America and Asia. He has conducted seminars for a wide variety of religious and faith communities on the issues of family, marriage, the sanctity of life and transcending death.

He currently resides in New Zealand continuing to both travel and teach and is presently collaborating on a translation and commentary of the ancient yoga classic, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.